Q: How has the economic climate of the past two years impacted the current state of beauty packaging?

Dent: I am an eternal optimist and believe constraints in budget and other resources spur the truly creative to be more innovative with what they have. Yes, of course the economic climate has affected many things, which include the amount of money spent on new research into innovative materials, but this should not stifle great new ideas. They will just have to be developed for more readily available materials. There is beauty in austerity too, just so long as it is well-designed austerity!

Trout: While the economic downturn significantly impacted a number of industries—including segments of the beauty packaging sector—the industry has held strong in a number of areas. For instance, the sale of antiaging products grew throughout the recessionary period of late 2008 through early 2010. In this case, brand extensions, rather than new brand launches, accounted for the majority of that growth. So, from a packaging standpoint, the demand for airless packaging was often requested during the down economy.

As we continue to emerge from the recession, we’re confident in the growth of the beauty industry. Just this month, industry analysts confirmed they expect an 8.5% growth in the worldwide beauty and cosmetics industry by 2014. We’re already helping customers plan for new, industry-first product launches that will definitely excite the marketplace.

Nagel: JSN has been fortunate to have experienced expansion of manufacturing demands during this economic downturn. We attribute this to the fact that we are a family owned company, with a long-standing commitment to quality and customer service.